Dancing in the Stars
by Toralinda
Summary: Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin are finally back from their journey, and there are a few hobbit-lasses who are very eager to see them. Set during the Scouring of the Shire. Merry/OC This is my very first fic PLEASE R&R!! Re-posted with new chapter!!!
1. They're Back!

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they are property of J.R.R. Tolkien. The only characters I do own are Toralinda and Mimosa. Matilda belongs to my friend Amael.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dancing in the Stars  
  
"Mother! Mother, come quick! They're back, they're back!" Toralinda ran through the gate to her family's small hobbit-hole, tripping and stumbling in her haste. She had not seen her dear friends for a long time now, not since they had left over a year ago.  
  
"Mother, hurry!" Toralinda rounded a corner and nearly ran headfirst into her mother.  
  
"Hush, child! Do you want to have us all arrested for being a disturbance? What is all the fuss about?"  
  
"They're back, mother! Frodo, and Merry and Pippin and Sam! They're back!" Toralinda brought her voice down to a normal level, but she could hardly contain herself enough to stay on her feet.  
  
"Do you mean it, child? Have they truly come back? By the stars, I thought they were dead by now! I am so glad to hear this!" She blotted her hands on her apron and placed her hands on Toralinda's shoulders. "Do the Brandybucks know about this?"  
  
The young hobbit shook her head.  
  
"Then be a good lass and go give them the news! Dear, child, why did you go a-telling me before dear Merry's family? Well, go on, child, go! And send your father in here if you see him!" She yelled after her daughter as the young girl ran down the hallway to the door.  
  
Toralinda burst through the door into the small garden in front of their home. Her father was at work tending the flowers by the window, and he turned when he heard his daughter run by.  
  
"Tori!" he yelled after her. "Where be you a-goin' so fast? Is there a fire?" Tori halted and turned to face the old hobbit.  
  
"No, papa," she said happily. "They're back! Frodo, and Merry and Pippin and Sam! They're back!" She turned and ran down the road towards the Brandybuck home. Her father gave a hoot of joy as he began to dance around the garden, seizing his wife and whirling her around as she stepped out.  
  
"They're back!" he shouted. "Hurrah, hurrah, they're back!"  
  
Tori kept running, down the road and past the bridge, over the hill, and finally around one last corner to the Brandybuck home.  
  
"They're back!" she yelled as she ran through the gate. "They're back!"  
  
Matilda Brandybuck, Merry's younger and much more level-headed sister, ran around from behind the hill and stopped by the door.  
  
"Who's back?" she asked. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Tori took Matilda's hands and began to dance around in a circle.  
  
"They're back! Merry and Frodo, and Sam and Pippin! They're all back!"  
  
Matilda laughed heartily as she began to twirl along with her young friend. Tori let go of Matilda's hands and stepped back, watching her friend gaily dance around the garden. After a few moments, Matilda lost her balance and fell to the grass. Tori sat down alongside her, happy as could be.  
  
"How do you know all this, Tori? How do you know they've come back?" Matilda lay back on the grass, smiling at the thought of all her friends still alive.  
  
"I overheard old Hob Hayward earlier this morning, talking to a group of shirrifs just come in from Hobbiton. He was going on about their orders to arrest a group of strange looking travellers for Gate-breaking, and Tearing up of Rules, and a whole lot of other things. Then he began saying that he knew the travellers, and that the shirrifs all new them too, and he said, real quiet-like, so no one would hear except them and me, being close- by, 'It's Mr. Merry, and the others who went missing a while back. They've returned to the Shire, and I reckon they've had quite an adventure by the way they're dressed and all.' Well, when he said that, I just up and ran back home to tell mother, and she sent me over here to tell you, and well, Matti, I think we should go look for them."  
  
Matti sat up, surprised by the sudden proposition. "What? But, we don't even know where they are. How are we supposed to find them? They could be anywhere."  
  
"Well," said Tori. "I also heard Hob say that they were heading down the Road towards Frogmorton, and that's where they were to be arrested. So I reckon if we head straight that way, we'll catch them there about sundown, perhaps before the shirrifs reach them."  
  
"I suppose so, but what if we don't find them there? We're not allowed to be out past sundown, and we'll get in an awful lot of trouble if we're caught."  
  
"Well, Mimsy lives down that way, and I suppose if we don't find the boys there, we can stay with her for the night. I'm sure she wouldn't mind it if she knew that Pippin and them were back." Tori stood and placed her hands on her hips. "So is it settled, then?"  
  
Matti hesitated for a moment, but stood up and walked over to her front door. "I suppose so. But we'll need food. You know Mimsy's family can't share their food with us. It's against The Rules."  
  
"Right." said Tori as she walked inside the hobbit-hole with Matti.  
  
"And," Matti continued. "If we get in trouble, it's your fault."  
  
A/N This is just the first chapter, there will be more to come, and those of you waiting for the mushy stuff: it may take a couple chapters, but don't lose interest just yet! Please tell me what you think, and the more people that review, the faster I'll add on! 


	2. Frogmorton

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they are property of J.R.R. Tolkien. The only characters I do own are Toralinda and Mimosa. Matilda belongs to my friend Amael.  
  
  
  
The hour was just past ten o'clock as the girls set out. Matti had taken her day's worth of food and carefully divided it into two small bags for the girls to carry, barely managing to fill the small pouches. Matti scrawled a short note to her mother on a small piece of parchment, and placed it in the pocket of her mother's folded apron.  
  
"Alright, let's go." Matti said as she slung her pack over her shoulder.  
  
The girls left the hobbit-hole and stepped out onto the rough dirt road. It was a warm autumn day, with a slight breeze rustling through the many-colored trees and scattering the fallen leaves. The small village was exceedingly quiet, and had been that way for quite a while. The usual talking and laughing of the younger hobbits had lessened more and more over the past year, until finally it had almost disappeared completely. There were now no more small gaggles of children running through the fields and hills that lined the road, nor were there any more gaffers and gammers sitting out in front of their holes smoking their pipes before taking a short nap. The road was almost wholly deserted, except for perhaps a small cart or waggon every now and then. The Shire had slowly lost its warmth and security over the past year, until it had become nearly a dismal place.  
  
The girls pressed on through the day, talking quietly along the way about this and that, and wondering if their friends had changed very much since they had last seen them.  
  
"What if we do not even recognize them?" Tori asked curiously. "What if we just pass them along the road, without even knowing it?"  
  
"I'm sure they couldn't have changed that much." Matti answered. "It has, after all, been only a year."  
  
"Yes," Tori agreed. "But you never know. Who knows where they have been and what strange ways they have learned? Why, they could, for all we know, have been crowned kings in a land of Men, or Elves!"  
  
Matti let out a short sigh. Tori always did tire her out with her restless imagination.  
  
"Well, we'll just have to wait until we see them then, won't we?" she said as they crossed a small footbridge.  
  
They were coming close to the east end of Frogmorton, and it was nearing dark. They knew very well that it was against The Rules to be outside past sundown, so they decided to go on ahead to Mimsy's house at the far end of the village.  
  
When they arrived, the only light to be seen was that of candlelight coming from the small kitchen window. They knocked lightly on the door, trying to be as quiet as possible, so as not to disturb anyone nearby and get into trouble. The door opened a crack and a timid, almost fearful voice drifted out.  
  
"Who's there?" it asked cautiously.  
  
Tori answered quickly and softly, "It's Toralinda Bolger and Matilda Brandybuck. We've been traveling all day, and we wondered, if it's not too much trouble, if we could stay the night with you."  
  
The door opened wide, and a mid-sized hobbit girl stepped out. She held her candlestick up so that she could make out the travelers' faces.  
  
"Why, it is you!" she confirmed. She placed the candlestick in a lantern near the door and embraced her tired friends. "What brings you so far out here to Frogmorton?" she asked as she stepped back and reclaimed her candle from the lamp.  
  
"We heard that Frodo and the others were back, and that they were heading down this way. We came to see them, if we can find them. We haven't seen them yet, and they were supposed to be arrested here today, so we may have missed them." Matti answered.  
  
"They've really come back? You're sure?" Mimsy asked gleefully. "But they're to be arrested? Why? Oh, how rude of me, why don't you come inside?. We just finished supper, and I'm afraid there's no food to spare, but you can come and rest by the fire and have tea if you wish."  
  
"Thank you, Mimsy, and don't worry, we brought our own supper." Matti replied.  
  
The girls stepped into the warmth of the hole and followed Mimsy as she led them into the study, where there was a small fire burning in the hearth. They sat down on the floor, since there were only two chairs, and both were occupied by Mimsy's mother and father. Mimsy went into the kitchen, and came out a moment later carrying a large kettle, which she set on its hook to boil over the fire.  
  
"So, girls, what brings you to Frogmorton, and so late in the evening?" Mimsy's mother inquired.  
  
"Well, you see, we heard news that Frodo and the others had come back, and that they were heading up this way towards Frogmorton. We wished to see them, so we came down here to find them, and, well, we haven't yet." Tori answered, taking an apple out of her pack.  
  
"They're back? Oh, that's wonderful news! Why, I haven't seen those boys for over a year. I wonder why they left? They were such nice, respectable boys, until they went off on that adventure of theirs."  
  
Tori nodded politely and laid back, resting her head on her hands.  
  
The girls waited for the tea to boil, and they each had a cup while they sat talking about the recent events in the Shire. They ate the last of their meager supper, completely emptying their small packs, and then went to bed, not entirely satisfied, but still well enough to rest.  
  
They awoke in the morning to the sound of people conversing quietly outside. Matti got up and sauntered over to the window, and gave a gleeful cry at what she saw.  
  
"It's them!" she said. "It's them! There they are!"  
  
Tori and Mimsy flew out of bed and over to the window where Matti stood hopping up and down joyfully.  
  
They looked out and saw four hobbits sitting atop their ponies, apparently waiting for someone. They were talking and laughing amongst themselves, and every now and then, one of them would glance towards the shirrif house across the road from the girls. The hobbits were dressed very strangely, like they had just returned from a war. They were all wearing a coat of mail, and each had a sword at their side, but they all otherwise looked the same as when the girls had last seen them. There was no doubt about it now. They were back.  
  
A/N Okay, so that one wasn't as good, but oh well, the next one will be better. Hopefully the next chapter will have just a tad of drama in it, and it should also begin the romance. Keep checking back! Oh and don't forget to review! 


	3. The Creek

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they are property of J.R.R. Tolkien. The only characters I do own are Toralinda and Mimosa. Matilda belongs to my friend Amael.  
  
  
  
The girls stepped away from the small window and rushed to dress. They were extremely excited to have found their friends, having been without them for over a year. The hobbits had been on many small adventures in the Shire, but they had never ventured past the borders of their small country, and the girls, though they didn't admit it to themselves, were envious of their friends having ventured outside into the world.  
  
"Hurry! They might leave soon!" Matti said as she adjusted her skirt.  
  
"We're coming, we're coming!" Tori answered.  
  
The girls threw on their shawls, for it was quite a chilly morning, and walked quickly out into the garden. They looked over to the shirrif house and saw that their friends were now accompanied by a dozen or so shirrifs, who did not look quite happy with them. The girls opened the gate and walked across the road to where the hobbits sat atop their ponies, talking to the shirrifs.  
  
Merry spoke to the shirrif-leader with a slightly angered voice. "You will ride ahead, and we will follow you. I will not make any negotiations to this."  
  
"You are our prisoners, and you will walk ahead of us." The shirrif answered back. They were obviously debating who would be leading whom, and it turned out finally that Merry and the others had their way.  
  
Merry and Pippin made the shirrifs line up in front of them in three straight lines. Sam and Frodo sat off to the side watching, and Sam called to the shirrifs, "If this is what you wanted when you became shirrifs for that Lotho, then this is what you'll get, and it's your own fault!"  
  
The girls stood back, giggling at the sight of the shirrifs being ordered around for a change. Nobody noticed them standing there until they jeered at the shirrifs, "Here now, what's all this? Shirrifs being arrested by their prisoners?"  
  
The shirrifs paid no attention to the girls, for they were too busy following the orders being given to them by Merry and Pippin, but Pippin spoke to the girls in a very amused tone.  
  
"Well it's about time! I was wondering when we'd see you girls!" The hobbits dismounted their ponies and walked over to the trio.  
  
"I'm glad to see you all alive." Tori said as she gave Pippin a welcoming hug. "And..taller, for that matter." She stood back and looked at Pippin, who was now a good three inches taller than when she had last seen him.  
  
"Where did you boys disappear to so suddenly?" Matti asked. "We were worried that you had been lost in the river and that we'd never see you again!"  
  
"Well," said Merry, giving his sister a short hug. "We were not lost, as you can see, but we did have quite an adventure while we were away. I'll tell you about it later, if you wish, but right now, we have to deal with a small problem. These fine fellows say that we are to be arrested, but I do not seem to see what we have done wrong. We've agreed to come along with them to Bywater, but we refuse to go anywhere else."  
  
The shirrif-leader gave a loud snort at this and muttered, "You'll come along with us, and we'll see what the Boss will have to say to the lot of you."  
  
Pippin turned to the shirrif-leader and told him sharply, "Here now, that'll be enough out of you."  
  
"Anyway," said Merry. "We're on our way to Bywater, if you girls would like to come along, though if I were you, I wouldn't want to travel with this lot of fools."  
  
"We'll come." Said Tori. "Besides, we haven't seen you for over a year. What makes you think we want to make it any longer?"  
  
Matti and Mimsy agreed heartily with this, and they were obliged to walk, but their friends would not have it. They had the girls ride along with them on their ponies, behind the shirrifs, who were very indignant at being ordered around by their prisoners.  
  
The hobbits traveled along the road, talking and laughing, while the shirrifs stumped along, trying to look important. They had a brief stop at noon to rest and eat a little, and the girls felt the need to take a short stroll down to the small creek that ran near the road.  
  
When they reached the creek, they found that it was now nothing but a small, dried-up ditch, and the flowers that grew near it were now dead and brown. The girls found this very disheartening, so they decided to head back up to join the others. Tori and Matti walked slowly, so that they could talk, while Mimsy went on ahead.  
  
"How could it get like this?" Tori wondered aloud. "It's always been so beautiful, and now it's just a lifeless, empty patch of dirt. How could this happen?"  
  
"I don't know. Life in the Shire is getting more and more dismal, and this is just one more thing to make it worse. I don't know what we are going to-" Matti was interrupted by a gruff voice coming from behind them somewhere.  
  
"Hello, what's this?" The voice said. "Two pretty young hobbit-lasses all alone?" The voice was that of a man, or to be more precise, a ruffian. He emerged from behind a tree and started slowly towards the girls. "You girls shouldn't be wandering here by yourselves. Here, let me take you back to where you belong."  
  
The ruffian grabbed Tori by the arm forcefully and pulled her close to him. "Or perhaps I'll keep you for myself." He whispered. He tried to grab Matti, but she stepped away before he could reach her.  
  
"Matti, run! Go get help!" Tori yelled. Matti hesitated for a moment, and began to run back towards the road.  
  
Tori struggled against the ruffian, trying with all her strength to escape his grasp, but he was too strong, and she could not get away. His arm snaked around her waist, and he pulled her even closer, so that she could hardly move. She tried to cry out, but he quickly covered her mouth and spoke fiercely, "The more you try to get away, the worse I will make this."  
  
Tori felt the ruffian slide his rough hand up her back to the base of her neck. He moved his face close to hers and spoke quietly, yet still very roughly, "You're mine now."  
  
He pressed his sour mouth to hers, making the young hobbit tremble at the unpleasant imposition. Tori felt herself being pulled to the ground, and before she knew what was happening, she was lying on her back with the ruffian sitting on top of her, straddling her small hips. The man began to laugh harshly, but stopped suddenly as he was hit forcefully from one side. He was thrown off of Tori, and he landed on his side with two small hobbits on him, kicking and hitting him with their small fists. The ruffian could not fight back, because his arms were being held down and he could not move his legs for the weight of the hobbits sitting on them. Merry and Pippin drew their swords quickly and stood, pointing the blades at the ruffian.  
  
"This is not your land," Pippin told the ruffian lying on the ground helplessly. "You have no right to come here and terrorize our people."  
  
The ruffian scowled at the hobbits and stood slowly. "You have made a terrible mistake, little fools. We ruffians always get our way, and those of you little folk who can't understand that, you can answer to Sharkey."  
  
The man turned and ran, back the way he had come from before, and Merry called after him, "And you make sure to tell any other ruffians about that we'll not stand for this anymore!"  
  
When the ruffian was out of sight, Merry and Pippin turned to where Tori still lay on the ground, sobbing from the fear that had overwhelmed her. Merry ran to where she lay, and gently placed a hand on her forehead.  
  
"Tori?" he whispered softly. "Tori, are you alright?" He brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face and waited patiently for her to reply.  
  
She stopped sobbing and closed her eyes, trying to calm down. 'It's over.' Tori thought to herself. 'It's all over. Nothing is going to happen now.'  
  
She opened her eyes and looked up at Merry. "I.I'm alright." She said weakly in between sobs.  
  
Merry took Tori's hand and whispered to her gently, "I'm sorry that this happened. I should have come with you girls. I'm never letting you go off on your own out here again. Not until all of this nonsense is cleared up and the Shire is returned to normal." He helped her up slowly and studied her delicate face. "This will not happen again."  
  
A/N I'm soo sorry it took me so long to update, but I've been a little busy, and at a few points in the story I was getting major writer's block. Can you believe that just writing parts of this chapter creeped me out? Oh, well I guess that's a good sign. Anyway, it may take about that long to get the next few chapters up seeing as I'm starting school soon, and I'll have that to worry about, but don't lose interest!!! 


	4. The Desecration of Hobbiton

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they are property of J.R.R. Tolkien. The only characters I do own are Toralinda and Mimosa. Matilda belongs to my friend Amael.  
  
  
  
Tori could feel her knees shaking beneath her as she began to walk forward. Her legs gave out suddenly and she stumbled, but Merry quickly steadied her before she fell. He wrapped his arm gently around her small shoulders and supported her as they walked back to the road where the others waited atop their ponies.  
  
"Tori!" Matti said happily as she hopped off her pony and ran to her friend. "Are you alright? What happened?"  
  
"I'm alright." Tori replied weakly, still trembling slightly from the encounter. "Nothing really happened."  
  
Matti took Tori's hands and looked at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry I didn't come back to help you. I came to get help, and Merry told me to stay here, and I was scared, and-"  
  
"I know." Tori answered kindly, placing her hand on Matti's arm. "I understand."  
  
The shirrifs were becoming impatient, and the shirrif-leader suddenly spoke up. "Alright, that's enough chatting. The Boss is waiting for you four." He motioned to Merry, Pippin, Sam, and Frodo, who each shot him a look of anger and annoyance, quickly silencing any further comments from the shirrif.  
  
"I'm sorry." Matti whispered to Tori as she mounted her pony behind Sam. "I shouldn't have left you."  
  
The hobbits traveled the remainder of the day, reaching Bywater at sundown. The shirrifs had given up their trek nearly three hours earlier, having been pushed as far as they could go without a rest. Merry had agreed to let them stop, and he had told them to come along in their own time.  
  
They looked out over Hobbiton and Bywater, and were horrified at the terrible condition it was in. Most of the houses they had known were now missing or burned, and were replaced with rows of tall, narrow buildings with bare, dimly lit windows, which looked all-in-all very un-Shirelike. The avenue of trees near Pool Side was gone, and when they looked up to Bag- End, they saw an ugly brick chimney rising up and pouring out thick black smoke. The sight was disheartening, for this was Sam and Frodo's own home, and it was not until then that they realized just exactly how much they cared for it.  
  
They nudged their ponies on, trudging slowly down the road towards the middle of the village. As they neared the Green Dragon inn, they noticed a small band of sallow-faced men in the shadows nearby, armed with heavy clubs and looking rather irritable. The hobbits crossed the square to the tavern, and the men stepped out in front of them, blocking their path onwards.  
  
"Whoa there, where do you little folk think you are going? Inn's closed and nobody is allowed beyond this spot." The man said roughly. Tori shuddered involuntarily at the sound of his voice; it was the same ruffian that she had encountered earlier.  
  
"I see," said Frodo softly, "But we had made an earlier arrangement with our-- friends, to meet them at this inn, and I intend to hold to that agreement."  
  
The man's eyes narrowed slightly and he scowled, taking a step forward and raising his club. "The inn's closed, so you had best be turning back home. It's almost dusk, and you know the rules: no small folk are to be outside their homes after sundown."  
  
"That is all good and well, but I am afraid we do not care much for these 'rules' of yours, so if you would kindly step aside, we will be on our way." Said Merry, heaving a short sigh of frustration.  
  
"You little rats," he replied, "You're getting too uppish for your own good." He turned back to his men and spoke again. "What say we teach them a lesson, eh?"  
  
Before the men could reply, Pippin rode forward, unsheathing his sword and casting back his cloak, revealing the sable and silver armor of Gondor. "I am a messenger of the King of Gondor," he said, "As well as his friend, and I say to you: this land does not belong to you, nor any others, and if you believe that our folk will alow you to desecrate our homes any longer, then you are a fool." He nudged his pony forward a step, causing the ruffians to recoil and drop their weapons.  
  
"Now go!" said Pippin fiercely. "And tell this 'Sharkey' of yours that we are no longer afraid."  
  
The men turned and fled, and as they ran, the leader took up a great horn hanging at his hip and blew a long blast before running again.  
  
"Why do you suppose he did that?" asked Sam, riding up beside Pippin. "Do you think there's more of them?"  
  
"Most likely," he replied, "They're probably all over the Shire."  
  
Merry and Frodo moved up alongside the others, and they continued along the road to The Green Dragon.  
  
"Well isn't this just a wonderful warm welcome!" said Merry. "We arrive home, and we find out that the Shire has been overrun by ruffians who seem to believe that they own this land, and they're going about scaring our people and tearing down house and tree, and putting up their own ugly buildings, apparently just for the fun of it. Girls, how long has this been going on, and how do you stand it all?"  
  
"Well," said Mimsy, "It has been going on for a good while, since the end of last year, a bit after you left; and as for putting up with it, we don't have much choice, if we stand for our rights, they'll drag us off to the Lockholes. They've already taken a few; old Will Whitfoot, the mayor, was the first to go, and since their 'Sharkey' has arrived, things have gotten worse."  
  
They reached the inn and dismounted their ponies, tying them to a nearby porch-post and sitting down on the steps.  
  
"Well we'll have to show them that they can't push us around any more," said Merry, stretching his legs out in front of him.  
  
"But how?" asked Pippin. "They'll be a might more confident when there's more of them, and I doubt that we'll be able to fight them ourselves."  
  
"Then we'll raise the Shire! All of our people hate this, except maybe a few. They've just been waiting for someone to take charge! I'll blow the Horn of Rohan, that's sure to get them stirring!" Merry stood and walked out to the middle of the road. "Sam, you run along down to old farmer Cotton's home, and get them roused, he's the chief person around here, they're sure to listen to him, if not us."  
  
Sam untied his pony and mounted it, steering it down the road towards the countryside. "I'm on my way!" He spurred the animal forward and cantered away from the others, and as he rode, he heard Merry blow a long note on his horn, and almost turned back, but fought the urge and pushed his pony to a gallop.  
  
"Well this will be interesting. We'll see just who's really in charge of the Shire, and I'm thinking these ruffians will get a taste of their own medicines."  
  
A/N Go Sam, go! Well, here we go, the next chapter is the first action scene! We'll see just how tough these ruffians are against our Hobbit Heroes! For those of you who have read the books, there's going to be an interesting twist in it that's a little different from what's already written, so keep reading!!! 


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